At World's End Without a Compass
by Riddle-Me-That
Summary: Elizabeth never made it off the Black Pearl. Instead, she was taken by the kraken along with Jack. While Will and the others search for them, she and Jack must put her betrayel behind them to survive. JE? WE?
1. Going Down

Ahoy, mates.  
After two years or so, I've decided to start writing fanfiction again. I am deeply ashamed that I've returned to it, but it's so addicting once you start it up again. And after seeing Dead Man's Chest a few times... well, who could resist?  
So... here is the premise of my story.  
Let's take ourselves to that moment in the movie where (spoilers ahead) Elizabeth, kissing Jack, chains him to the mast.  
Now let's say Elizabeth never makes it off the ship herself.  
Drama? I think so. Basically, what the third movie COULD be, if the writers had seen fit to add this little twist.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. Obviously. That's why I'm writing a FANFICTION. Fiction by a fan.  
Anyways.  
Time to fix on the old tricorn (made it from an old leather jacket) and get writing.  
The game is on.

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Chapter One  
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"Pirate."

The word lingered in her mind, a not entirely undesirable word. She rolled it around mentally, considering it, wondering over it. She was a pirate. This was a path Elizabeth had never truly considered, except perhaps late at night when the sky was darkened with clouds and oppressive, leaving her completely alone to her thoughts. Then, and only then, did she flirt with the dangerous notion of piracy.

And now Jack was telling her she was a pirate.

Her hand still lay clasped over his, the shackles cold against her flesh, his flesh. Her guilt harnessed her to him, and she stood before him wordlessly, unable to move. She could hear them in the longboat, hurrying each other along, and Gibbs calling to her. But she did not move, could not move, would not move.

"They've gone, ye know." Jack's voice roused her from her shock, and he added, with a hint of disappointment, "P'haps ye aren't such a pirate after all. Lass, there's nowhere for me to go now. Mind releasin' me?"

Anger and fear rose in her throat as she removed the shackles. It had not been in the plan to stay there, but damn it all, she had a conscience. So she wasn't a true pirate after all. And now the others were gone, leaving her alone to her death.

Jack rubbed his wrist, and directed his gaze downwards at the young woman before him. His usual jovial attitude had disappeared, and he reached out to tip her chin up, searching her face. "You're a good woman," he told her quietly, and that smirk snuck across his face quickly. "But a bloody awful pirate. Now, Lizzie." He turned, his back to her, and drew his sword. "Let's greet the beastie." She could not see his face, but she could well imagine the glitter of his eyes and his determined smirk; a look that was completely Jack Sparrow and yet, she feared it was not enough.

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The Pearl went down under the powerful force of the kraken, collapsing like a twig and disappearing beneath the waves. In the longboat, the remaining members of Jack Sparrow's crew watched, grief and guilt gripping each one.

Will, in the middle of the boat, rowed steadily onward, refusing to look back- unable, actually, to look back, Ragetti's sword prodding him gently in the back. It was only this threat of death that kept him from going back for Elizabeth... Elizabeth. Elizabeth was gone. Her life had been taken by the sea, a fate that had never been fitting for her. And even before that, her heart had been stolen by a pirate. Eyes fixated on his arms- pulling, pushing, pulling again. Steady, steady- he rowed onwards, as Gibbs turned his back on the watery grave of his captain and commanded, gruffly, "To land, lad. We must pay Tia Dalma a visit."

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The laterns lit up the dark, gloomy river as the longboat drifted towards the humble abode of Tia Dalma. Arranged like stars against the blackness of night, the lantern bearer's regarded the pirates with steady, unnerving eyes.

"Do they know?" Will murmured, and the sound of his voice lit up the silence. His companions glanced at him sharply, and he fell silent, gritting his teeth as he rowed harder. 

"Mind the boat, Mr. Cotton," Gibbs ordered absently, and stood shakily to his feet, climbing up to the door of Tia Dalma's home. He was followed inside by Will, Marty and the bumbling pair of Ragetti and Pintel. Cotton was left alone in the darkness.

"I thought you might be coming." Tia looked up from where she sat, leafing through a book that looked ready to fall apart at any second. "Come in," she added, though unnessecarily, for they were already in.

They bumbled further in, together, a collective group of tragedy and dismay. Finding chairs and perches, a stunned silence fell over the room, and it was Will who broke it, thumping his knife deep into the wooden tabletop. "Will we go after them?"

"Them?" Gibbs repeated, and it was then that Will realized that Elizabeth's death had gone unnoticed.  
The pirate cleared his throat guiltily, and stood up straighter. "Aye," he finally drawled. "If it be possible..." Here he trailed off, and a hesitant glance was directed towards Tia Dalma. "Is it?"

She smiled, showing blackened teeth. "Aye, it is possible."

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Barbossa!

Bloody, stupid, damnable Barbossa! He was to be their captain, their saviour? The man who had gotten him caught up in all this in the first place? Will clenched his fists tightly by his sides as he returned to the boat to relieve Cotton. It was Barbossa who had kidnapped Elizabeth, sending Will off on a death-defying adventure to save his love! And now he was expected to trust the man?

"Why should I trust him?" he grumbled aloud, and ran agitated fingers through his hair.

"We have no one else to trust, lad." Gibbs joined him in the longboat, shrugging stiff shoulders apologetically. "If we want to save Jack and young Miss Swann..."

"We do."

"Aye, then we must trust him." A deep silence covered the two in a fog, and not another word was spoken until Gibbs returned to the hut. Even then, it was a simple apology. Nothing more. 

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"I am myself again, then?"

"Of course." A smirk crossed the face of the shorter man, and he adjusted his wig. "You are on the way to regaining your title, your honour, your status... your life."

"Good." The taller man exhaled sharply, rubbed at the grime covering his face. "Good."

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A/N: The ending of this chapter is a bit cliff-hanger-y, but it's pretty obvious who it is. Next chapter should be up soon... Reviews are much appreciated. 


	2. Cold

Ahoy mates, and welcome to chapter two!

Let's get started, eh? And get the whole Will-wonders-about-kiss deal out of the way. Has to be done, mate.

Chapter Two  
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It wasn't like Elizabeth to betray his trust. It wasn't like her to sneak around behind the back of someone who had her word, to break their bond, to mutilate his heart. She was a kind soul, a gentle girl- well, perhaps not gentle. He had seen her wield a blade. But she was still delicate and proper (despite her new attire and company.)

Will rubbed his fingers together, listening to the subtle waves of the river lap against the side of the boat. Maybe, he considered, for the first time, maybe she was not the same girl anymore. Maybe she wasn't a girl at all.

Maybe she was finally a woman.

And Jack Sparrow was, decidedly, a man.

Will hated to doubt himself, but he had to compare himself to the dashing captain. Far less experienced, far younger, far more naive... Will was definitely more boy than man right now. Had Elizabeth grown so much in their years of engagement, leaving him behind on the shore while she sailed into her new freedom?

He would have to change it, if he intended on keeping her heart. And it was something he certainly intended on doing.

_I would die for her._

He'd meant it then, so long ago. His heart had not changed.

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"She's ready, captain." Barbossa's eyes snapped to Pintel as the shorter man spoke.

"Good," the captain retorted. "Let's cast off." His yellowed eyes roamed over the crew that was assembled before him on the deck of the _Lady Jane, _a recently pilfered ship. Barbossa paused, his gaze resting uneasily on the young blacksmith, standing uncomfortably straight and out of place. His lass was more a pirate than this man. Barbossa motioned to Gibbs, commanding that he take the wheel, and the captain of the _Lady Jane_ stomped below deck.

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The seas were unbearably calm, so much so that Barbossa found himself worrying over every tiny wave. Davy was making this far too easy for them. He knew where they were going. The sea told Jones everything, and surely he knew that this was a quest to save Jack. Yet he offered no resistance, at least not in the form of the ocean. The sailing could not have been better, and so Barbossa fretted.

It had been days, and Will had been wonderering if they had yet slipped into the end of the world. How could one tell? He soon had his answer. Their first trial had begun.

"All hands on deck!" The roar of the captain brought any idle crewmen to their feet, and Will pitched up onto deck, worry drunkening him. "What?" he bellowed. "What's the matter?"

Barbossa didn't answer, but then, he didn't need to. The rapidly darkening clouds spoke loud enough, and as thunder belched and lightning crackled, and the sea twisted and turned in agonizing turmoil, Will was faced with the worst storm he had ever seen.

The sudden wind tossed him back against the rail, and he grasped blindly for a rope. Marty was very nearly swept into the sea, but caught himself on the rigging. Barbossa stood at the helm, gripping the wheel firmly with one cold hand, and gesturing to his crew with the other.

"Furl the sails! She can't hold." The crew struggled to do his bidding, and though the going was tough, they managed. "And get below. Gibbs, Turner, stay with me. Lash yerselves to something." Gibbs and Will joined him, each wiping away the seawater that blinded them. Will was in the process of binding himself to the wheel when a wave washed up over the railing, knocking him into the unforgiving sea.

-----------------

Damn, but it was cold.

Will struggled towards the surface, but he could feel himself being dragged down towards the darkness. He could almost feel the slithering tentacles of Davy Jones gripping his limbs, pulling him down, down, down. Which way was up? Soon he merely let go, gave no attempt to rescue himself. He relinquished all rights to his life, closing his eyes and thinking, of course, of Elizabeth. Of how he could not rescue her now.

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"Cap'n?"

Davy Jones turned his blazing eyes on the crewmember who had spoken, silencing the man. "Bring her to me," he barked, and turned, storming in a huff to his cabin.

He could have sworn the boy had the heart with him, but he could not detect even a trace of it in the ocean. Sighing heavily, he turned his head slightly as Elizabeth Swann was thrust into the cabin, and smirked to himself. "Miss Swann," he began. "I would like to inquire as to the prescence of a certain... asset of mine."

Elizabeth lifted her chin, pursed her lips, and despite the grime and dirt managed to adopt an air of superiourity. "Asset, Mr. Jones? I have no idea-"

"Don't lie to me!" The tentacled captain whirled at her with wild eyes and writhing skin, and she cringed, hating herself for this sign of weakness. "My heart! Where is my heart!" He turned again and snapped his arm towards another crewmember. "Bring in the other."

"In my humble opinion, Mr. Jones, you have no heart." The words were spoken with such dripping rage, such contempt, that Davy Jones was taken aback. The door banged open and Jack Sparrow was lead inside.

"I think she's got you there, mate," Jack mocked, his trademark grin still visible under a considerable coating of dirt and blood.

Davy sputtered, and his hand swept forward, gripping Elizabeth's chin. "Pretty lass," he mused, his voice suddenly soft. "So like her, in a way. So like her. So like the ocean." His hand dropped, clenched into a fist. "So full of lies!" He nearly roared the last word, then turned his back on the two prisoners. "I ask you both, one more time. Where is my heart?"

"Gone." It was Jack who spoke now. "Along with your lady love."

In the silence that followed, Davy Jones only waved an arm, and Elizabeth and Jack were lead away.

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A/N: Not sure I'm pleased with this chapter, but there it is, all the same. Reviews are welcome, please. Oh, and for WE or JE fans, I don't know what this is going to turn out as, but we'll see. (When I choose one or the other, I'll probably put an alternate ending with lots of fluff for the other.)


	3. Mirrors

Ahoy, mates.

This is probably going to be a somewhat shorter chapter. But we'll see how it goes.

See first chapter for disclaimer.

Chapter 3

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He found that he couldn't stop looking in the mirror.

He had never been a vain man, never cared too much about his reflection. Sure, he did make sure he looked appropriate. It was nessecary, for a man of his rank. But he had never spent so much time in front of the mirror as he did these past few days.

Norrington was himself again, and he could hardly look away. He found himself tracing the lines of his face, fixing his powdered wig, his hat, the collar of his jacket. Polishing his boots, his sword, his pistol. Every button shone. He had regained his rank, and he would be damned if he lost it again.

He missed... something, though. Something he couldn't place. Something tugged at him, gnawing away, and, frustrated, he turned away from the mirror.

Why was it that he couldn't look himself in the eye?

Ever since striking the deal with Beckett- the heart of Davy Jones in exhange for his title- he had been avoiding his own accusing gaze. He felt dirty. But he was helping the right side, wasn't he? He was upholding justice and honour, and fighting those filthy pirates was what he was meant to do... wasn't it?

It wasn't.

Because Beckett was as bad as the pirates. Worse than the pirates. Worse than Will and Gibbs and even Jack... and, of course, worse than Elizabeth.

He smirked, realizing he had classified Elizabeth as a pirate, then his smirk faded as he heard voices from the hall of his house. Servants, gossiping, but a certain name caught his ear- "Mr. Swann."

"I heard he's been locked up."

"By Beckett?"

"Who else?" The servant snorted. "Locking up the governer... shame. He was a good man."

Norrington cleared his throat, and the servants, hearing him, scattered. But he barely noticed as he finished strapping on his uniform, and, placing his hat squarely on his head, he faced the mirror once more. In a swift flourish, he knocked his hat and wig to the ground, shook his head, and stared himself in the eye for a long moment, before turning on his heel and stalking into the hall.

To find Governor Swann.

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Once again, I apologize for the ridiculous short-ness of this chapter, but it was really just a drabblish chapter on Norry. Please REVIEW!

Individual review replies:

NazgulQueen: My first reviewer! Thanks for the encouragement.

misso18: Addicting is an understatement.

surfchikpir8fan: I'm glad you like where it's going, because in all honesty, I'm not all that sure. Haha.

WonkasChocolate: What more can I say than "thanks!"

music nerd: Haha, don't worry about it. What I meant was, it's like a drug. Sometimes you regret taking it, but you just can't help yourself. (Not that I've ever tried a single drug. But I sort of think it would go like that.)

Anna: I like surprising people. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

shakeNbake: I'll chalk that down as one vote for JE.

Kim: Don't worry. If it's JE, there will be an alternate WE ending. If it's WE, there will be an alternate JE ending. I'll post them at the same time so I won't break any hearts.

Beautiful x lie: Thanks!


	4. Welcome

Chapter 4

Well, mates, here we are with chapter four, and I promise that this one will be longer. And much more important to the story. Without further ado...

Note: Though the first bit here may indicate it, there will be no Elizabeth/Davy action, because... well, look at him. Ew.

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Damn her! Damn her!

She was so much like his own love. He could see it in her eyes, he could see it. He felt as though he knew her so well, felt as though he could predict her every move, and he felt himself falling for her because of it.

Davy Jones huddled over a map that he knew off by heart, using it simply as a tool to distract him from the aching emptiness of his chest. Elizabeth Swann was too much like the woman he had once loved. But there was one difference: Elizabeth had not torn his heart to shreds. He found himself vulnerable when she stared at him with such fierce, angry eyes. Worse, he knew that she knew what an effect she had on him.

Elizabeth Swann, he mused, seemed to have that effect on every man. Certainly the Turner boy was smitten with her. Jack, perhaps? It seemed so, sometimes, when Jack weakened enough to carry his heart in his eyes. And surely there would others that she had screaming and pleading under her delicate little finger. Davy did not want to join the ranks of her love-slaves.

But he was perilously close.

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"Jack, what are we going to do?"

"Elizabeth, luv." He sighed, exasperated. "You keep asking. I keep telling you the same thing."

"We are NOT," she retorted fiercely, "Doing THAT." She turned her back on him to hide her blushing cheeks, to avoid his tempting smirk.

"I mean," she added, "How will we get out of here?"

"Simple," he pronounced, and she turned back, intrigued.

"You have a plan?"

Jack feigned hurt. "Of course I've a plan, darlin. I am-"

"I know who you are." She pouted. "What is this plan, then?"

"We wait." He grinned at her, pausing, and when he didn't speak again, she sighed.

"That's it? We wait? That's your plan? How will that get us out of here?"

"Because, Miss Swann, Davy Jones does not intend to simply sail about all over the seven bloody seas with us rotting here in this cell. We're no good to him locked up. Surely he has other intentions for us. And if we wait- patiently, luv, and don't pout at me so, yer only tempting me- if we wait, he'll come and tell us what we are to be doing."

Elizabeth had turned her back on him again, though a familiar snap caught her attention and she snuck a peek back at him. He had opened his compass, and was holding it up and down and left and right, frowning.

"Might I... have a look?" she asked.

Jack shrugged, handed it over, and lay back, shutting his eyes. Elizabeth clasped the compass tightly in her hand, closed her eyes, drew a breath, then looked down at it.

It swivelled, frantically, whirling back and forth, mirroring her turbulent thoughts. Will. Jack. Will. Jack. Norrington- where had that thought come from? She clapped a hand to her forehead. Wonderful. She was so confused that she couldn't even remember who was confusing her. Her eyes strayed over to Jack's form, then back down to the compass.

It had stopped.

The compass pointed directly to the pirate captain, but she wondered if Jack maybe only stood in the way of Will. With this thought, the compass began to whirl again. She snapped it shut, and hurled it as hard as she could against the wall of the cell.

"Oi!" Jack sat bolt upright. "Throwing my things around, are we, Miss Swann?" He scrambled over to where the compass lay, and picked it up, opening it. He squinted at it in disbelief. "Elizabeth," he breathed, then snapped his eyes up at her accusingly. "You've fixed it!" He indicated the compass which was, indeed, pointing north.

Elizabeth started to speak, feeling tears well in her eyes, for how would she ever know her heart now? But then one of Davy's monstrous crewmembers came and unlocked the cell door, to bring them to see the captain.

---------------------

"I suppose you're wonderin' what I want with a couple of prisoners," Davy inquired, as they sat before him.

"Not really," Jack replied. "I think we already know what you want, mate."

Davy chuckled, and patted his chest. "Of course. I have lived too long without a heart, Sparrow. I want my heart back. In one piece. In my chest."

"Which chest are we speaking of? The chest it was originally in, being a part of you, or the chest you had buried in the sand?"

Davy again thumped on his chest. "Inside of me, Jack. I want it inside of me again."

"I don't think it was ever gone." Jack arched an eyebrow, still gazing steadily at the captain as Elizabeth snuck a glance at him. Sometimes, only sometimes, Jack Sparrow could say something that had such a ring of truth to it.

"Where do we come in?" Jack asked.

"Your friends are searching for you. I want to let them find you, and when they do, you will go with them to find the heart. And you will bring it to me."Davy eyed Jack, ignoring Elizabeth for the time being. She was dangerous. She threatened his composure.

"And what makes ye think you can trust us?" Jack asked, smirking. "I have a bit of a reputation-"

"Everyone has a price, Jack, including you. Especially you," Davy replied and Jack, unashamed, just grinned. "You value your life, and if you do not return my heart to me, I will set my beastie after you. A bit binding, isn't it, the promise of death? Unless my heart is returned safely to me, the kraken will pursue you forever."

Jack cleared his throat, then he nodded. "Very well. But I should like some sort of reward for my returning the heart."

"The Pearl?"

"Aye." Jack's eyes glittered, and Elizabeth felt a pang of jealousy, though she was quickly ashamed. It was a damn boat, for God's sake. She was jealous of a boat? Her thoughts drifted to Will, and she sighed softly, finding herself missing his steadfast nature.

"Fine. I will raise the Pearl for you. But you must have my heart back to me within a week." Davy Jones held out a hand, and shook that of Jack Sparrow.

"It's a deal," Jack replied with a charming grin. "Now, where will you be depositing me and the young missy?"

Davy rose, strutted to the door of his quarters and opened it, indicating outside at a small island in the distance. "Welcome to the end of the world, Captain Sparrow."

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Please review. They make my day.


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